Students Only
Cast members---information regarding auditions, practices, and shows will be
posted here during the school year. For access during the school year, please send an email to director@westparkplayers.com.
Access will be given at first rehearsal of Fall or Spring rehearsals.
AUDITION NOTICE!West Park Players Spring 2011 Musical Production Audition Announcement, Rules and Instructions
“Les Misérables” Student Edition
Auditions for the West Park Players Spring 2011 production “Les Misérables” will be held on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 6:00 PM in the Ocean Township High School auditorium. Callback auditions will be held at 6:00PM on dates to be announced on that same week, at the same location.
Any student, residing in Ocean Township, who is enrolled at Ocean Township High School (or any approved secondary school) during the 2010-2011 school year is eligible to participate.
The rehearsals for this production will begin on Monday, January 10, 2011. All rehearsals will be held at the Ocean Township High School unless otherwise posted. In January and February 2011, rehearsals will be held weeknights at 6:00 PM until 8:30PM. In March and April 2011, rehearsals will be held from 5:30 PM until 9:00 PM.
PLEASE BE ADVISED that some rehearsals may begin immediately after school and during “Tech Week” (April 4 through 6, 2011) rehearsals can dismiss as late as 11:30 PM. Some Saturday rehearsals (dates TBA) will be held from 10:00 AM until 2PM. A mandatory rehearsal will be held on Saturday, April 2, 2011 from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. The West Park Players do not rehearse or perform on Sundays.
Early dismissal from rehearsal is possible and the student will be advised in advance of any rehearsal date or time changes. A rehearsal schedule will be based on the cast, crew and advisor’s availability and will be generated at the first rehearsal on or about January 10, 2011. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain a current rehearsal schedule. A copy of the rehearsal schedule may be found in the “Students Only” section of the West Park Players website at www.westparkplayers.com. Every effort will be made to update this website but all students will be issued rehearsal and schedule changes via, telephone, email and/or in person. In case of inclement weather or other emergencies, rehearsals will be canceled if the Ocean Township High School is closed by order of the Superintendent of Schools. Please visit the Ocean Township School District Website at http://www.ocean.k12.nj.us/ocean for more information on school closings.
Performance dates/times for “Les Misérables” are as follows:
Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Friday, April 8, 2011 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 8:00 PM
(Please note that there are two performances on April 9, 2011.) All performances will be held at the Ocean Township High School Theater, 550 West Park Avenue, Oakhurst, NJ.
If you cannot commit to a rigorous rehearsal schedule, and make this show your main activity until April 9, 2011 then you will NOT be considered for a role.
PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL REHEARSE OR PERFORM EVERY DAY (Excluding school holidays and Sundays) FROM MARCH 21, 2011 UNTIL AND INCLUDING APRIL 9, 2011. IF YOU HAVE TO MISS ANY REHEARSAL DURING THIS TIME, YOU WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR A ROLE.
The director reserves the right to dismiss ANY student from the cast or stage crew who violates this rehearsal policy. Emergency cases (i.e., medical or family emergencies) will be decided on a case-by-case basis. While we acknowledge that family emergencies, vacations, illness or other unavoidable incidents occur prompting a missed rehearsal, we reserve the right to dismiss any student from the production, or a portion of the production, should the Director feel such absences will harm the production.
Any student, regardless of position in the production, who violates the Ocean Township High School’s zero–tolerance substance abuse, bullying or sexual harassment policies, will be dismissed from the play immediately.
Any student who is placed on academic probation; is in danger of failing any class; or has displayed behavior contrary to the outstanding reputation of the West Park Players and the Ocean Township school district will be dismissed from the play immediately.
No one will be turned away who wishes to participate in the production in one form or another. Acting positions are not the only part of a successful production. Technical/stage crew, lighting crew, production team, publicity/marketing, costuming, house management, ticketing, program (PlayerBill) development, fundraising, ushering, concession sales and other positions are available and encouraged.
School letters and pins will be distributed to students at the end of the school year, at a banquet sponsored by the West Park Players Auxiliary. These awards (The Westie Award) will be given to students who participate and support the drama club and both productions during the school year. Students who participate in this and other productions who are enrolled in a school other than Ocean Township High School will be held to the same standards as noted above.
During the audition, you will be required to present TWO pieces of music and may be required to perform both. Each piece should be 16 measures in length. One piece should be up-tempo and the other a ballad. These pieces MUST be from a Broadway show. YOU MUST BRING THE SHEET MUSIC (ARRANGED IN YOUR PROPER KEY) WITH YOU. An accompanist will be provided. The auditioner must memorize their piece and perform from the stage. Duets are not allowed. Auditioners can perform their piece without accompaniment (a Capella) although this is not encouraged. Music from this show will be allowed. At callbacks, auditioners may be required to recite a monologue from a published play. This monologue should not be longer than 1 minute in length. This monologue should be memorized. One copy of your monologue should be presented at the time of the call back audition. If you must use a copy of a printed monologue as a “crutch” you will be graded accordingly. In other words, a student who has taken the time to memorize and prepare will be considered for a role over a student who is unprepared.
Some pre-selected parts of the “Les Misérables” script will be provided to you during callbacks. You may be required to sing this callback piece after studying it for a brief (5 to 10 minute) period. You may or may not be required to interact with other audtioners at callbacks. Considerations will be made for those students with learning disabilities.
Your monologue must be dramatic in content and should show dramatic timing and clear characterization. Only monologues taken from published plays are permitted. Pieces with excessive profanity, chosen for “shock value” are not allowed. Your audition piece must show your ability to handle drama. NO extemporaneous speech can be used. A part of your audition score will be based on how well you interpret an author’s work. Acting your piece is encouraged. The use of props or set pieces is not allowed. Students may be asked to imitate the regional accents of those native to the area of London, England. These “English” accents will be used in some roles in this production and your ability to master these accents will help you secure a role in this show. A better understanding of this regional American dialect can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org, by researching regional accents and dialect in a public library or by using other appropriate resources. This play is set France during the French Revolution.
You must bring a typewritten one-page resume on standard letter (8.5” by 11”) paper. Contained in your resume should be your name, address, grade, homeroom, email address, home telephone, cell phone, past theater experience, past theater training and any scheduling conflicts you may have during the dates explained above. Content found on professional resumes such as height, weight, hair color, eye color, age, accent proficiency or training, etc., should appear on your resume. These items are included to prepare you for the college, community and professional audition process. Research on proper theatrical resumes is encouraged.
Along with your resume, you must bring an 8” by 10” headshot photo. You DO NOT have to get professional head shots! Any computer generated 8”X10” (portrait or landscape) headshot will do if it conforms to the above criteria. Do a little research to see what an audition head shot looks like. This website: http://www.new-york-headshots.com/headshots/actorheadshots.htm shows proper headshots in color and black and white, both of which are acceptable. The quality of the headshot is not important. Professional (as opposed to home printed) headshots WILL NOT improve your chances of getting a role. The inclusion of a headshot is used to prepare you for the audition process outside of high school. If you have difficulty in obtaining a headshot or resume, need assistance in preparing same, or are unclear of what is required of you, please contact Mr. Angelini, Mrs. Brautigan or Mr. Collins for assistance in advance of the first audition. Headshots and resumes will not be returned to the student.
YOU MUST ATTACH your one page resume and headshot by placing the blank sides of your resume and headshot together and securing same with staples or appropriate glue. All four corners should be stapled or glued. NO PAPER CLIPS PLEASE! Those who come prepared will fare better than those who are not prepared.
ANY STUDENT WHO COMES UNPREPARED OR DOES NOT SUBMIT A PICTURE OR RESUME MAY NOT BE ALLOWED TO AUDITION.
“BREAK A LEG” AND WELCOME TO THE DRAMA CLUB
AND THE WEST PARK PLAYERS!
Audition Date Conflicts
Mr. Angelini and Mrs. Brautigan will be available to audition those students who are not able to attend the above two dates due to emergent circumstances. Reasonable accommodations will be made on a case-by-case basis. As the casting will be completed by January 7, 2011, no auditions will be scheduled after that date. Please contact Mr. Angelini at rmangelini@aol.com or director@westparkplayers.com to present your conflict with the above dates and schedule your audition PRIOR to January 4, 2011. Access For Current Students Only